One More Sacrifice
by Jessie611
Summary: Chloe knew all about making sacrifices, mostly witnessed through the actions of Jack Bauer. Chapter 14, now complete.
1. Chapter 1

"What do you mean the terrorist wants me?" Chloe asked Bill "Why would a terrorist know about me?"

"Chloe, it's Ok. We're trying to find that out now; apparently he has barricaded himself inside a downtown office building and is holding several people hostage. All we know is that he's a white American and he asked for you to be brought to him. We're gonna get to the bottom of this."

Chloe chewed on her bottom lip, feeling anxious. She was no good at this sort of thing. Take her out of her computer comfort zone and she was lost, worse than that she was an emotional wreck. She thought about leaving, getting out of there, and hiding from the situation. She then remembered Ryan Chappelle, he'd tried that but Jack had brought him back and eventually had killed him for the good of the country. A country that supposedly didn't negotiate with terrorists – what a joke.

But Jack wasn't here, had been missing for the past fifteen months. Some people thought he had gone underground again, including his girlfriend Audrey, but Chloe knew that wasn't the case, that he'd been captured by the Chinese. Oh, she had tried to use CTU resources to find him and had received a number of leads which hadn't amounted to much. Even if they had there was no way she could access the help needed to bring him home. That fact alone had haunted her for months, she felt guilty that she hadn't done more, guilty that she hadn't done the impossible. For Jack Bauer nothing was impossible and she so wanted to be able to do that for him, to prove to him that it wasn't always down to him to sacrifice everything for the greater good. She had hoped that when he saw they could manage without him, he would go off somewhere and be happy; for she knew (as he did) the only way that would happen was if he got the hell away from CTU.

Anyway, she couldn't run. For a long time she had aspired to do the best thing, the right thing – she'd learnt that from Jack. She wasn't a coward; it was just that she was nervous in unfamiliar situations. For a long time she'd believed it likely that she would die because of her job. She'd even done a statistical analysis that told her she was unlikely to survive longer than another 5 years in her current job.

She was broken out of her reverie by Bill talking to her, a concerned look on his face "…..we'll protect you Chloe, we won't hand you over to him…"

"Sorry Bill, what was that?…I…I. wasn't really listening…"

"Chloe, this man has threatened to shoot a hostage every thirty minutes if we don't get you to him now. I was saying that Curtis needs you to go with him but don't worry we have no intention of handing you over to him. We just need him to believe that we are going to take you in there."

"Wh….what's the plan after that?"

"We're still working on that one Chloe"

"Great!" she said rolling her eyes and summoning every ounce of courage in her being. She took a deep breath, looked Bill square in the eyes and said, "OK then, where's Curtis? If we're doing this I'd rather get on with it".

Less than twenty minutes later she stood with Curtis outside the office building looking up to the 23rd floor where the hostages were being held. A perimeter had been set up in the area with only CTU and LAPD personnel in the vicinity. Curtis was talking on the phone to one of the hostages trying to coax the terrorist into talking to him without much success.

"What'd he say?" Chloe asked when Curtis hung up.

"He wouldn't talk to me, the hostage told me he was going to kill her in eight minutes if we didn't do as he asked."

"How did the hostage sound? Wh..what else did she say?"

Curtis hesitated, trying to gauge where her question was coming from. "She was upset Chloe, she sounded scared".

"Hmmph. Well then we'd better do as he asks. Call back and tell him I'm going up"

"Are you sure? You don't have to do this Chloe. No-one will think any less of you"

"I will think less of me Curtis" she said with a wry smile "you should know by now that I don't give a rats ass what anyone thinks of me."

"Except Jack" Curtis said returning the smile.

"Yeah, but that's not going to help me now is it? He's not here"

Within a couple of minutes Chloe was riding up in the elevator to the 23rd floor alone. Her heart was almost jumping out of her chest; she was thinking that this is what certain death must feel like. It was inevitable to her that she would die, probably not immediately because the terrorist obviously wanted her for a reason but he would kill her either because she won't do what he wants or because she would stretch his patience – she had that affect on the most patient of people!

She knocked on the door of the conference room where the hostages were being held. Within seconds the door opened slowly, a terrified woman standing there and gesturing Chloe into the room. On one side of the room sat the group of hostages, a dozen in total both men and women. They all had one thing in common; they shared the terrified expression she had seen on the woman's face.

The woman told Chloe to stand facing the other wall with her hands behind her back. Chloe hesitated "Where is he?"

"Please……." the woman begged, tears springing to her eyes and stammering nervously "he said he will kill me if you don't do as I ask"

"Ok" Chloe said turning and walking to the wall the woman had indicated. Within seconds her wrists were handcuffed behind her back then she heard the sound of the door opening and several people moving towards the it, some crying but mostly they were silent. The air was filled with tension. She heard the finality of the door closing, then silence. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, sighing gently at the realisation that the hostages had been released. Well, she thought, this was novel; a terrorist who was true to his word.

She strained to hear any sound in the room; suddenly she detected the gently rhythmic breathing of another person behind her. The blood rushing through her ears almost drowning out the other's breathing, she tensed her muscles as she felt hands touching her shoulders, surprisingly gentle hands which did nothing to ease the tension she now felt. The hands travelled over her body, patting her down checking for a wire or any other communication device or weapon.

Suddenly a hand was clamped over her mouth, alarm making her struggle a little. She was spun around so she was facing her captor, her eyes level with his neck; her body clutched tightly to his chest. He took a step back although continued to hold her tightly, continued to muffle any sound she would make with his hand. Slowly she looked up, eyes focusing slowly as shock ripped through her – she was staring wildly into the eyes of the person she trusted most in this world. Tears fell as both relief and an overwhelming sadness washed over her at the sight of Jack Bauer.

Slowly he released her mouth from the pressure of his hand. By now, her breathing was both quick and shallow, tears streaming down her face. This was so unlike her, she never cried in front of anyone (except maybe a few tears when Edgar died) but now it felt like she'd never stop. As Jack reached up to wipe a hand across her cheek, as though hoping to stem the flow that way; Chloe mirrored his touch by gently placing her hand on the side of his face. The wonder that was Jack Bauer standing before her, she had to touch him to make sure he was real. Oh God, was she hallucinating? Was this really some evil terrorist and as a way to cope with it had she created a mirage of the person she trusted most?

Chloe gave a short laugh that was partly a growl at her own lunacy. God, maybe she was going mad after all. She stood there now smiling like an idiot, Jack looked into her eyes, returning her smile then gently placing his head against hers in an effort to stem the emotion they both felt. He knew she was relieved it was him and not some crazed man hoping to destroy a US city; and he, well he was just glad to have human contact from someone he thought of as a friend (the first time that had happened in a long time).


	2. Chapter 2

It took several minutes but eventually Chloe got her emotions in check. By this time Jack had moved away and wandered to the other side of the room and was now standing with his back to her, peeking outside through a crack in the window blind. Chloe wondered what was going on, realising that for Jack to do what he'd done, he must've had good reason.

Jack on the other hand stood by the window trying to buy some time. How the hell was he going to explain this to her, he'd scared the life out of her and for what? He knew she would have helped him willingly; he hadn't really needed to go to these lengths. Except that he had – it had been the only way he could think of to keep her safe. If they thought she was helping willingly it would have made her a target and that was the last thing he wanted.

"Jack?"

He turned slowly at the sound of her voice and instantly saw the look of confusion on her face. "What's going on Jack? How did you get here? I thought the Chinese had you."

Jack sighed, considering his response and deciding to answer the easiest question first. "I was in China for about a year Chloe. I left there three months ago and arrived back here last week. It's been a long journey".

"What do you mean a long journey? It's only like a 12 hour flight!"

He had to laugh at that, if only it had been that simple. "Chloe, it is so good to see you" he said with a smile.

"Well I should think so if you've spent over a year in China Jack, but I don't understand what's going on."

"Chloe there are some things it's better for you not to know. I don't want to put you in any more danger than is necessary. Please ….. I just need you to t……hmmph"

She cut him off mid sentence with a timely blow to his solar plexus. "Don't you dare Jack, don't you dare ask me just to trust you. You know I trust you but you've put me through hell today, I thought I was going to die and do you know what? The only comfort I found when coming up here was the thought that I was finally going to be able to prove to you that sometimes other people have to make sacrifices. It doesn't only have to be you. But how could I really prove it to you when I didn't know where you were? And what do I find? Yet again the person behind all of this is none other than Jack Bauer himself." She stopped only to take a breath.

"You cannot expect me to go along with this without telling me where you've been, what happened to you. I have spent the past 15 months looking for you, tying myself in knots thinking that if only I hadn't called you that day none of this would have happened. I've had to put up with everyone else assuming that you just went underground again, thinking that my extreme reaction to their ambivalence was because I was upset that you didn't trust me enough to let me help you. But I knew Jack, I knew you were in trouble yet there was no way I could help you so please, don't talk to me about trust".

As Chloe ran out of breath again, Jack was just recovering his from the blow she had dealt him moments before. "Chloe, I'm sorry. I know I scared you and I know this is difficult but if I tell you everything it will put you at risk and I'm not prepared to do that. None of this is your fault, if you hadn't called me that day I would still have been brought into it eventually and I would have wanted to make sure you were Ok anyway."

How did he manage it she thought to herself? Just as she was getting into full swing with her anger he managed to diffuse it. But not this time she thought. She was damned if she was just going to go along with him on this.

"Jack, if you don't tell me what's going on then I'm just going to walk out of here. I'll find a way to divert them long enough for you to get away if that's what you want but I'm not going to play along this time."

"That's not a good idea Chloe" Jack said, a hint of controlled anger in his voice.

"What are you going to do to stop me? Shoot me?" she asked.

In response to his blank expression she frowned in concentration, trying to figure out what to do next, this wasn't getting her anywhere. She didn't really want to go, but equally she didn't want to only know half the story. She wanted him to trust her completely, to understand that any danger she put herself in was her decision, that it wasn't his responsibility to protect her, that it wasn't always up to him to control the world around him. She decided then and there that there was only one thing she could do.

She turned and walked away. She crossed the room towards the door, feeling exasperated but also feeling a little nervous about what he would do next. All of a sudden she knew. The click of the safety alerted her to the fact that his gun was trained on her back, just as she reached for the door handle. She stopped.

"Make another move Chloe and I will shoot you, make no mistake about it."


	3. Chapter 3

"Now, turn around slowly and move over to the chair by the window."

Chloe turned, refusing to look directly at him. She walked to the chair and sat with a heavy sigh and an even heavier look in his general direction.

Jack holstered his weapon and walked towards her. He knelt in front of her chair, hands either side and leaning in so his face was barely inches from hers. "Look at me Chloe" he demanded.

She reluctantly looked at him, defiance written all over her face. Good, he thought, taking it that he hadn't freaked her out too much. "Chloe, I will tell you why I need you here but that's it. I can't tell you any more."

Chloe's eyes fell to the floor again, her frustration making it difficult to maintain eye contact. She was always like this with extremes of emotion. She was fine with other people when everything was calm, when the status quo was being maintained in her own mind. But as soon as she started swinging emotionally she found it difficult to relate to others, preferring instead to cocoon herself and steer clear of any entanglements. "Jack, why did you kidnap all those people? I don't understand any of this" she said, blowing her hair out of her eyes as she finally looked up at him.

"I needed your help Chloe and I had to make it seem like you came here against your will. If they thought you were doing this willingly then they would have been suspicious that I was double crossing them."

"Who?"

"The Chinese. They believe that I am now working for them and my first task was to get you to help me with their mission. I had to make them believe you were doing it against your will otherwise they would have realised their plan hadn't worked. They used sensory techniques for the past year to get me to do what they wanted. At first I resisted then realised they were doing it to get me to work for them so decided to go along with it as a way to stop them."

"What do you need me to do?"

"First we need to get out of here, then I need you to hack into CTU's mainframe undetected to transfer some information."

"What information?"

"A list of all CTU's operatives abroad and details of planned operations in the Middle East and Asia."

"But Jack, where am I transferring the information to? If I release it then our national security will never recover. Are you sure they weren't at least partially successful when they tried to brainwash you?"

Jack felt a smile come to his lips at her candour, only Chloe could say it like it is without using a more cunning approach to identify whether he really was working with the terrorists. Just then, the conference room phone rang for the third time in 10 minutes. Jack stood up "We need to get out of here Chloe, answer the phone and ask that we have a chopper here in 15 minutes."

Chloe did as he asked although it was not that easy. Curtis was on the other end of the phone demanding to know if she was Ok, asking who this guy was, what he wanted and most importantly where he was intending to take her. Chloe told him that the terrorist wanted information but that she didn't know the details yet.

"Curtis, if the chopper is not here in 15 minutes he will kill me, and then he will release a bomb somewhere in the US, followed by another then another until he gets what he wants. The people he is working with will know if we double cross him so let's just give him what he wants."

"I'll get back to you" Curtis said before hanging up.

As Chloe hung up she looked at Jack who said "You're good Chloe, I think you must have done this before."

"Well you should know Jack"

Jack moved into a small room at the back of the conference room and Chloe followed. There were video screens surveying the area, they showed troops on the ground and some on the lower floors of the building. "When Curtis calls back tell him to get his men to stand down Chloe. I don't want anyone but us in this building when that chopper lands on the roof."

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you really have shot me?"

Jack walked towards her "would you really have walked away?"

Chloe rolled her eyes "what sort of answer is that?"

"The only one you're gonna get because the real answer should be obvious Chloe. If you had walked out that door I would have dragged you back in but I knew you wouldn't have come quietly and I didn't want you screaming like a banshee and bringing Curtis and god only knows who up here – Ok?"

"Banshee? Since when have you heard me scream like a banshee?" she asked, her outrage clear.

Jack chuckled and moved away to open his bag and pull out essential items for their getaway.

"I wouldn't have walked out the door you know" she said in a quiet voice.

. "I know".


	4. Chapter 4

Within minutes they had heard from Curtis that the chopper was just landing and the building was now clear. Jack gave Chloe instructions to approach the chopper alone, disable the pilot then get in and wait for him. Jack hid behind an external stairwell so as not to be seen.

Chloe approached the chopper, recognising the pilot who smiled at her reassuringly. "Sorry Bob, but he wants to fly the chopper himself" she said. The pilot stepped out and as he did Chloe tasered him so he fell to the ground. Jack came running out from his hiding place and jumped in to the chopper next to Chloe. He handed her a laptop whilst he took control and set them on their flight path. Chloe was able to disable the tracking features on the chopper so they wouldn't be detected and they took off. As they rose above the chaos on the ground Chloe asked Jack where they were going.

"Somewhere close but where they're not gonna find us in a hurry"

"You know Jack, you never did answer me when I asked where I would be transferring the information to once I've got it from the CTU network, I'm not sure that I'm comfortable with not knowing."

"Chloe I'm not planning that we actually share the information with them. I'm just trying to buy us some time."

Chloe sat quietly contemplating what he was saying. It didn't make any sense to her logical brain. Buy time for what?

Jack looked away from her then and concentrated on flying towards their location. A few minutes later they started descending towards a wooded area within the hills above LA. They came to a clearing and Jack skilfully landed the chopper and turned off the engine. Chloe noticed a wooden out building and guessed that's where she'd be working from. She jumped down from the chopper as Jack did the same.

It took Chloe very little time to hack into CTU and retrieve the information. Jack told her to download the files and save them to disc but also to create a dummy copy with false information that he could use if he actually had to give them the information.

"What do we do now Jack?"

"We need to get you out of here and I need to track down someone who might know what they're planning on doing with this information. I have a name and a rough location."

"What do you mean get me out of here? Is that it? Am I supposed to just go back to CTU and tell them that the terrorist's name is Jack Bauer and he's been brainwashed by the Chinese? Oh, and by the way I ought to let you know that I've handed over our most sensitive files? Yeah right Jack! That's really going to work"

"Chloe, you can't let them know it's me. If you do then they'll have to assume I'm working with the Chinese and come after me. I need you to stall them to give me more time."

Jack looked her square in the eyes, silently pleading with her to help him.

"Chloe, I know I'm asking a lot of you, I always do but I can't do this alone and I can't trust anyone else."

"Jack, by the time I get back they will most likely know what I've done. On a normal day I'd say it would take them longer but they must know that the terrorist would try and get me to do something like this so they'll be looking for it."

"Chloe, I know. I also know they will be tough on you; they'll want to know why you've done it. You'll need to give them a basic description of the terrorist, one that will divert them for a while."

"Oh, and how do I explain that I, Chloe O'Brian, computer geek managed to escape unscathed?"

Chloe stood looking at Jack, a question in her eyes. All of a sudden a flicker of emotion close to disgust ran over his face. He quickly looked away as though he couldn't look at her anymore.

"What Jack?" she asked, feeling uncomfortable.

Jack, his back to her just stood staring out the window whilst Chloe processed the conversation they'd just had trying to establish what had caused this change in him. Suddenly, it came to her – if she was going to be convincing then she couldn't return to CTU unscathed. After all she wasn't a field agent, for her to escape it would have to have been through luck and determination. The price of which would be at least some degree of injury. That's why he couldn't look at her – the same thought had crossed his mind. The solution being for him to cause some believable injury, and that would torment him. Yes, Jack did some terrible things to people but he paid the price, the price being that every time it added extra weight to the guilt he carried every day of his life.

Chloe took a step towards him; he jumped at her touch but didn't turn. Chloe circled around him so she could look at him. Jack couldn't focus; he continued to stare out the window, a faraway look in his eyes. She reached up, her fingers gently grazing his cheek in an attempt to get him to look at her. When he did she saw the pain that was there, the raw emotion.

"It's Ok Jack, don't torture yourself…please, it doesn't matter. I…I'll do whatever you want me to do."

Jack reacted almost violently, pushing her away as though he couldn't stand to have her near. "That's the problem Chloe. How can you trust me so blindly? I'm not the person you think I am, you see me as a good person who sometimes has to do bad things but maybe that's not the case. I mean, out of everyone I know, you are the person that has been there, the person that has never doubted me. Why?"

"I don't know Jack, maybe because you trust me too. No-one has ever done that before, half the people I know think I'm crazy, the other half probably don't think of me at all. Yet you …., you trusted me to help you, you had faith in me and that meant so much. Jack, what makes you different is that you always try to do the right thing, you might not always succeed but that's because you're human. At least you try."

At that, Jack looked down for a moment, trying to control the overwhelming need to just stop. To stop long enough to feel something, long enough to find the old Jack, the one who had been able to separate his work life from the rest. How had it happened that he now couldn't distinguish between the two?

Chloe looked at him for a moment then decided she needed to take control. She walked over to him and asked how she was going to get back to CTU. Jack looked surprised for a moment then realised that she was trying to keep him focused on the task in hand. He pulled himself together, informed her that there was a car on a deserted stretch of road about a half mile away, told her that she was to have the car but that he would go on foot. They couldn't use the chopper without risking being seen.

They gathered together their things ready to leave. "Jack, I feel a bit vulnerable heading back alone, do you have a weapon I can use, just a knife or something I can easily hide. Just so I feel a bit safer."

Jack smiled at that, remembering Chloe's first foray into field work when she was terrified of using a weapon. He guessed she'd had to get over that one in a hurry. "Sure Chloe" he said, handing her a knife, showing her how to flip the blade should she need it.

They headed outside and Chloe asked Jack to wait a moment while she headed into the wooded area. She told him she needed to use the bathroom and since there were no indoor facilities the nearest tree would have to do! Jack waited patiently as she headed towards a densely populated part of the wood.

She was gone only a few moments when he heard a sharp yell of pain. He moved quickly, weapon in hand, approaching her quietly - believing they were not alone and wanting to take her assailant by surprise.

But, Jack was the one surprised. As he approached her, he saw a pool of blood collecting on her t-shirt just as Chloe was flipping back the blade. He stood still, a shocked expression on his face at what she had done to herself.

"Oh my god Chloe" he whispered, concern for her mixed with a certain degree of admiration. He moved towards her, lifting her clothes so he could get a better look at her self inflicted wound. It wasn't deep enough to cause any damage, but it would require some stitches.

Jack grabbed a shirt from his bag so she could use it to stem the flow of blood. She looked pale as though shocked by her own actions.

Jack reached out, cupping her face with his hands and looked intently into her eyes "why Chloe? Why would you do that?" He didn't really need her to answer - he knew. He leant his head against hers for the briefest of moments before taking a deep breath and pulling away.

They headed for the road together in virtual silence, he wondering if she would be Ok, wondering if she would get through whatever CTU held for her when she returned. Whilst she.., well she wondered if she would ever see him again.


	5. Chapter 5

As Chloe drove into the CTU parking lot she began to feel light headed, her side throbbed and she was scared. Scared for Jack but also scared to face her colleagues knowing they would question why she had given up the information. A few years earlier she wouldn't have given herself such a hard time, after all back then she hadn't found the courage she had now. Courage she had found because of him. As she walked into the building she knew that they'd find it hard to believe she would have given up the files; they would have expected her to fight because that's what she would have done if the situation had been real.

The first person she saw was Curtis which was good as she was beginning to feel decidedly unsteady on her feet. She had time to process the shocked expression on his face at seeing her before her legs buckled and she fell to the floor.

Minutes later she woke up in medical with both Curtis and Bill leaning over her. "Chloe, are you Ok?" Bill asked looking all fatherly and concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just glad to be back" she said, rolling her eyes and hoping her lack of ability to lie convincingly didn't catch her out.

She told them the story that she and Jack concocted. That she had been taken by a tall, dark haired American who seemed to know who she was and the level of access she had within CTU.

"I'm sorry" she said, "I didn't know what to do. I had to give him the information. First I tried to give him a dummy copy but he wasn't stupid, he started to torture me and I couldn't hold out. I'm sorry." They both looked shocked at what she was saying, she knew they would be but when the tears started to flow their expressions softened. Bill patted her arm gently and Curtis squeezed her shoulder kindly before they turned away to whisper quietly in the corner of the room.

Her tears were real; she wasn't that good an actress to pretend. She was sad, sad that she couldn't share the good news that their friend had returned, sad that the news of his return probably wasn't that good anyway.

Within an hour Chloe was feeling more comfortable. Her wound had been stitched and she'd been given painkillers. Bill was sitting at her side telling her that they wanted to debrief her. She tried to tell him she wasn't really up to it yet but just as she knew he would he persuaded her that they had little time to find the man and retrieve the information before it was too late.

Bill decided to debrief her himself, which didn't really help to calm her tattered nerves. She sat in the interview room opposite him. He started asking her to again describe her captor, then went through in detail what happened from the moment she stepped into the room to the moment she returned to CTU. Chloe knew her story had holes in it but she couldn't get it any straighter. Her nervousness was increasing, she became tongue tied, her palms clammy. Bill was looking at her with those piercing blue eyes as though they could read her thoughts, read her mind. She on the other hand could read his suspicion.

"Chloe, something doesn't add up here. I want to know what you're hiding from us."

"I…..I'm n…not hiding anything. I'm just in shock I think. Can't we do this later?"

Bill looked resigned and suggesting she rest back in medical for a while, he walked out of the room. As she headed back to medical she saw Bill talking with Curtis and Karen, they all looked at her as she walked past. She felt terrible, as though she was betraying all of them.

Chloe rested for an hour or so, if you could call it resting. Her body was still but her mind was all over the place. She desperately wanted to know what was going on with Jack, desperately wanted to get away from this situation.

Chloe was lying with her eyes closed when she felt a movement to her left. She looked up and saw Curtis standing over her. "Hey" he said, "how are you?".

"Fine!"

"Chloe there's something going on and we need your help"

Thank god, she thought to herself. Finally she would have a distraction.

"What is it?"

Curtis told her there had been an explosion at a hotel in the city, luckily no-one had been killed but only because someone had alerted the authorities then had gone in and removed the device somewhere where it would cause minimal damage.

"Chloe, we have a basic description of the guy but we need someone to do a profile match. We're really short staffed at the moment so could really use some help. You think you're up to it?"

"Sure" she said getting up off the bed and following Curtis.

Chloe settled down at her station and checked through the information they had from key witnesses. The man they were looking for was of medium height and build, carried a utility bag and his most distinguishing feature was that his eyes were different colours; one green, one blue.

Oh my god Jack! She had to run some kind of interference to stop them from finding him before he was ready. Just then, she noticed a woman being escorted from one of the interview rooms, Bill behind her followed by two of the security guys. Bill approached her station with the security guys in tow. Chloe sat nervously – oh shit, something was wrong.

Bill asked her to leave her station and follow him into holding. Once inside the security guys were posted outside the door. "What's going on Bill?"

"That woman you just saw leaving was out jogging this morning near the location you told us you escaped from. She saw you; she saw your captor and her description didn't match yours. We ran a check on all known males fitting her description and she was able to identify the man you were with – it was Jack wasn't it?"

Chloe shifted uncomfortably but didn't respond, she frowned in concentration as she tried to think of a story that would be believable.

"Don't bother Chloe, we have more information so don't bother lying to me more. We now know that Jack has been in Chinese custody for more than a year, that they successfully brainwashed him into helping them get that information. Why did you help him Chloe?"

"He hasn't been brainwashed Bill, he resisted it. He's trying to get to the bottom of what's going on."

"Chloe, are you really that naïve? We know that you believe all that Jack tells you but did it not occur to you that he may have been lying to you? That he is working for the Chinese and he knows how much you trust him and knew you would believe everything he told you?"

"No!" Chloe shouted. "Jack wouldn't do that, he wouldn't"

"Chloe of course the Jack we know wouldn't do that but he isn't himself at the moment."

Chloe looked at Bill in despair.


	6. Chapter 6

She'd sat in a CTU holding cell for more than two hours. Plenty of time for some self reflection; they obviously thought she was too trusting of him, too wrapped up in her supposed hero worship. They told her they were holding her for her own safety and because they couldn't trust her not to work with him if he contacted her. She felt powerless. Oh, she had tried to convince them, tried to remind them of the man he is, the man of honour, the man of courage who would never betray his country. But they weren't having any of it. Oh why were they so blinkered, they would only see the obvious answers, wouldn't see beyond the simple solutions.

Eventually Curtis had come to tell her she was being transferred to Division. They wanted a more objective debrief than she would have at CTU; Chloe read that as they didn't trust her to stay here even if she was locked up. She sighed heavily, her frustration clear to everyone.

She was travelling in the car with Agent Smith and another guy she didn't know when they were hit side on by a white van, Chloe was stunned – what else was going to happen today? Smith left the vehicle to check on the status of the other driver when suddenly four men in balaclavas jumped out shooting him and the other agent. Chloe tried to scramble out the other side of the car when she was pulled back by her hair, she yelled out in pain kicking and hitting the guy who had hold of her.

"Stop Ms O'brian" said one man, holding a gun to her face. She could make out his dark eyes and they held a glint in them that told her he would dearly love to use the gun on her. She calmed down, at least externally. They bundled her into the back of the van and sped away. They had been driving for only about 10 minutes when they pulled off the road. When the van stopped she was dragged out and into a building on what looked to be a deserted construction site.

"What do you want from me?" she asked, her heart rate refusing to be slowed. No-one spoke, they just dragged her upstairs and threw her into an almost empty room, locking the door behind them. She looked around her, noting the mattress on the floor, a bucket to its side. Oh god, she could guess what that was for but didn't really want to think about it. She moved over to the small window and, despite the bars on it could just make out the road at the back of the building. Not that it would make much difference as it seemed pretty deserted and no-one would see her from where she stood.

She sat on the mattress, feeling vulnerable – a feeling that didn't sit comfortably with her, an experience she'd had many times in her earlier life, one that she had gone to great lengths to overcome. She jumped as the door opened suddenly, standing up so as not to give them the advantage of height (although that seemed irrelevant as the man approaching her was over six foot).

He walked toward her slowly and she backed up against the wall feeling afraid as he reached out to touch her face. His hand was gentle but she was not deceived, detecting the restrained anger in his whole being. "So, this is Bauer's right hand woman is it? Not much to look at are you?"

"Well stop looking then" she snapped back, she always hated it when people measured others on looks alone.

"Fiery though, I like that in a woman" he said running his hand up and down her arm provocatively.

"If you think you're going to intimidate me like that then you're wrong, now get your hand off me you jerk" she said pushing at him and turning to her right to move away from him. She didn't get far though; he pulled her back, slapping her hard across the face so her head bounced against the wall behind.

Chloe wiped a hand across her face feeling the warm stickiness of blood oozing from her nose; she refused to give in though. She'd spent many years refusing to give in to the intimidation inflicted by others so why would she start now when she needed to stay strong?

"You obviously don't like us that fiery" she said staring him square in the face. "What do you want with me?"

He smiled coldly "we don't want anything from you, you're our insurance policy"

"Insurance for what?"

"To use as leverage for Jack Bauer if he refuses to comply with out demands"

"Where is Jack?"

"On his way here"

A smile flickered across her face, so automatically that she couldn't suppress it.

"Oh you can smile Ms O'brian but he can't help you now"

Want to bet? She thought to herself. If he thought that then he didn't know Jack!

She heard a car pull up just then and noticed the change in the man immediately. He was wired for action, as though he couldn't wait for what was about to unfold. "I'll be back for you" he said before leaving the room and locking it behind him.

Chloe stood by the door, straining to hear what was being said. She heard voices but couldn't make out who they belonged to – they were too far away. Several minutes passed when she heard footsteps outside the door, it swung open to reveal a shorter, stockier man that the one before. He grabbed her roughly, dragging her out of the room and down the stairs.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs she heard him. Relief merged with fear at the thought of what might happen next. She heard the other man's voice clearly now, he was telling Jack that they had an insurance policy to make him do what they wanted although he didn't state what that was.

She heard Jack asking what he meant by an insurance policy, he was angry – she could tell in the controlled way he asked the question. Just then she was pulled out from where she stood and pushed next to the tall man who was standing in front of Jack.

She saw him flinch, saw the pained expression in his eyes at the sight of her, not just the sight of her being there but being there with blood still oozing from her nose and the clear definition of a bruise appearing on the side of her face. "I'm Ok Jack" she said, "don't do ….." she was cut off by the man next to her grabbing her by the neck and pulling her in front of him.

Jack stepped forward but was stopped by the two goons now standing on either side of him. "Just leave her out of this" he said angrily "I'll do it, just leave her alone".

"Oh we know you'll do it" the tall man said "you don't really have a choice if you want your friend to live." Jack seemed to cave in at that point, his shoulders slumped. At that, the tall man released his grip on her neck, believing Jack to be giving in to his demands.

Chloe knew differently though, she knew he was trying to lull them into a more relaxed state so they wouldn't see what was coming. Chloe stared at him intently waiting for the look that was sure to come.

Within seconds there it was, a flick of his eyes to the right and Chloe thrust her elbow into the man's ribs falling to her left in a dead weight to throw him off balance even more. At the same time Jack took out the guys either side of him in three easy moves. He grabbed both their guns, throwing one to Chloe whilst shooting the tall man right in the middle of his chest. He fell to the floor just as Chloe pulled the trigger of the gun in her hand, shooting the man still standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Chloe" Jack said, falling to his knees beside her "are you Ok?"

"I'm fine Jack!"

Jack pulled her up from the floor, dragging her to his side as they ran out of the building and into the car he had arrived in. Jack sped away whilst Chloe sat next to him, trembling slightly mostly with relief rather than a reaction to her captivity.

Several minutes and several back streets later Jack pulled into a parking lot behind a busy store. He stopped the car, looking at her with concern. He then turned and stared out the front of the car, groaning to himself then resting his head against the stearing wheel.

Without looking up he spoke quietly "Oh god, Chloe. I am so sorry for getting you involved in this. I had no idea they would use you. I haven't been that scared since….well, since Kim and Teri. I am so sorry"

He was looking at her now, begging for her forgiveness. He reached out to stroke the side of her face gently the pleading look not leaving his face. Chloe frowned in confusion, she never could understand why he always blamed himself, why he always asked for forgiveness for things that were out of his control. Oh, she understood his honour, his sense of responsibility, but what she couldn't understand was that he didn't see what she could see – a man who was just trying to do his best, what was wrong with that?

"Jack, it's Ok, I'm Ok" she said urgently. At the reassurance in her voice he reached across the car practically dragging her across to his side. Holding her close he looked into her eyes and asked "Did they hurt you Chlo?"

She knew what he was asking but felt the need to lighten the mood "What? You mean apart from the broken nose and cheekbone and the fact that my best feature i.e. my face may be permanently disfigured?"

He smiled at that but still looked at her with concern.

"No Jack, they didn't hurt me, not really"

Jack rested his head against her chest, muttering "Whilst I don't have a problem with your face Chloe, I have to disagree with you there. Your best feature by far is your heart."

Chloe felt that particular feature melt at his words; words that made her both love and hate him at the same time. She loved that he cared for her but hated that he would never act on it, at least not in the way she wanted him to.


	7. Chapter 7

They had gone into hiding for a couple of hours so that Jack could clean up Chloe's wounds. It was beginning to get dark so they'd checked into a motel just outside of town. Chloe had booked the room as Jack's face was likely to be plastered all over town by now. She had her story straight in case she was asked any questions, something about getting away from her abusive husband. Not that it was a problem, the motel clerk really wasn't interested in anything other than his beer and the football game on TV – he hardly noticed her really.

The room was functional; large bed, TV and relatively clean. They had picked up a first aid box in a local drug store, along with some food to keep them going for a while. First off Jack cleaned up her face, gently bathing her bloody nose and mouth then placing ice on her now swollen eye.

"Well I think you'll get away with the battered wife routine for a while longer if necessary" he said to her.

Chloe snorted derisively "yeah and as soon as anyone gets a glimpse of my crankiness they'll be fully supportive of the jerk that supposedly did this to me."

"Except that the jerk was not your husband, but a known terrorist who has been working with men behind our own government, powerful men who seem determined to cause death and destruction in the name of stabilising our country's economy" Jack said with a sigh.

"You mean, those guys had something to do with Logan?"

"No, not Logan particularly; more powerful than him, the guys who have been pulling his strings."

"You mean to tell me that the ex-president of the US was not the most powerful man in the world when he was in office."

"Seems that way" Jack said as he removed the ice pack from her face to survey the damage. He probed gently around her cheekbone to see if it was actually broken. "Nothing broken here Chloe, despite your dramatic statement earlier" he said with a smile.

"So, no sympathy from you then Mr Hard-ass Bauer?" she said with a roll of her eyes.

"I didn't say that. Now, take off your shirt and lie down on the bed."

"What? Why?" she asked stammering nervously.

He laughed then. "Don't worry Chloe, believe me if I was aiming to seduce you I would try a slightly more subtle and romantic approach than 'take off your clothes and get on the bed.' I want to have a look at your stomach wound; I noticed there's some blood oozing through the dressing."

Chloe blushed furiously, peering down at the wound in question. She started undoing the buttons of her shirt, then blushed again at the thought of being half naked in front of him. But she did as he asked, realising that to protest would make the situation even more awkward. She lay back on the bed, propping herself up on the pillows as he was getting fresh water from the bathroom.

Jack came back into the room to find Chloe with her eyes closed, looking pale and drawn. He sighed angrily at what had happened to her today. Could he have done things differently? Kept her out of it in some way? Possibly, he told himself but it would have taken much longer to get where they were now and time was one luxury he could no longer afford. They had managed to stop two threats already today, the third one of the day being planned by the men who had taken Chloe. He was also closer to finding the men behind the threats.

He walked over to where she lay on the bed, sitting down on the edge. Chloe opened her eyes and smiled at him, scrambling over a little to make more room for him. He leaned over to peel off the dressing on her side, gently examining the still swollen and throbbing flesh. Chloe winced a little despite his gentleness "sorry" he said trying to be gentler still. He cleaned the wound thoroughly and redressed it; by the time he was finished the lids of Chloe's eyes were drifting shut. He pulled a blanket up over her and decided to let her sleep for a while.

Jack walked over to his bag and pulled out the new cell phone they'd bought, deciding that now was the time to bring Bill up to speed with what was happening. He called CTU direct, determined to keep the call short so they couldn't trace it. Bill came on the phone instantly.

"Hey Bill, its Jack."

"Jack, what the hell are you doing? Where's Chloe?"

"She's here Bill, I found her at a construction site, being held by a group of men who had been planning some of today's terrorist activities."

"And where are these men now Jack?"

"They're dead."

Bill sighed, "What's this all about Jack?"

"I don't know everything Bill, just enough to know that there are some very powerful people behind what has happened today and they were also involved in the Logan conspiracy."

"Jack, I know Chloe believes that you are working for us on this thing. I want to believe that but the evidence is damning."

"I know" Jack said shortly, "Bill, do what you have to do. Just send some men to the address where the bodies of the terrorists are and I will keep doing what I have to do."

"And Chloe?"

"She's fine, I'm keeping her with me" Jack said, looking over at the sleeping form of Chloe O'Brian before snapping shut the phone and cutting off Bill before he could trace them. He'd only just decided he was keeping her with him, but he felt she was safer that way.

He walked over to where she lay and, deciding they had some time before they needed to move again, he lay down next to her. Chloe leaned into the warmth of his body. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to him so he gathered her in his arms and held her close to his chest. Jack didn't sleep, just closed his eyes concentrating on the gentle rhythm of her breathing; his gun not leaving his side.


	8. Chapter 8

A couple of hours after he'd spoken to Bill they were on the move again. Jack was determined to find the men behind the conspiracy and realised they could only do it if they kept CTU out of the loop. Jack's motives were partly driven by the need to protect himself and those he cared about. He was confident they had stopped the immediate threats but knew that unless he found those behind the conspiracy, found proof that he was not working against his own country, he would never really be free.

He suspected that the men behind Logan were an international conglomerate of wealthy and powerful business types; owners of international security firms with a vested interest in creating a culture of fear and dread for the American people. Jack had found out from a number of sources that the terrorist attacks both today and 18 months ago had been engineered by these men with the help of the Chinese. The plan had been in place for the Chinese to torture Jack for information on US security, when this had failed they then planned to use him to carry out some of the terrorist activities. The ultimate purpose being to increase the need for enhanced security systems across the globe; security systems that had been designed in the US and in China.

Jack and Chloe were headed for the offices of SCA, the largest security corporation in the US. Jack had a plan to smuggle Chloe in to hack into their server and identify members of their senior team who'd had recent dealings in China.

"So, how're we going to get in without being seen Jack?"

"There's a secure underground facility where you'll be able to access what you need. It'll be difficult without satellite coverage but you're here and there's no-one else at CTU I can trust to help us. We're lucky it's the middle of the night; there will only be security guards on duty."

"Yeah, right Jack. We're breaking into one of the worlds largest security firms in the middle of the night and you think our only problem is going to be a couple of guards?" Chloe rolled her eyes as if to say she thought he was crazy; actually Chloe knew he was pretty crazy but that didn't stop her believing in him.

"We don't have a choice Chloe" he said in frustration.

They pulled up two blocks from the building, deciding to enter through a back route that would take them directly into the room where they needed to be. Jack had a decoder that could disarm their security system for up to two minutes. Jack armed himself with a gun, passing Chloe a taser and a second weapon should she need it.

"Chloe, try not to get too trigger happy. We want minimum casualties; unless you feel your life is in immediate danger, just use the taser. Remember though that I have your back and I will do everything to make sure that nothing happens to you".

"I know Jack" she said, feeling comforted that she was going into this situation with him.

They approached the point of entry, Jack going first, with Chloe closely behind; so close that she could feel the heat from his body warming her against the chill of the night. Suddenly Jack put out his right arm to usher her against the wall behind him, just then Chloe noticed two security officers patrolling the area. Jack told her to wait while he crept up behind the guards, knocking one out with the base of his gun before grabbing the other in a strangle hold. He lowered the man to the ground as he lost consciousness then ushered Chloe to join him.

They grabbed the security card from one of the guards to open the door, once inside Jack used the decoder to disarm the security system. Chloe got to work, smiling to herself at the irony of how easy it was to get into their system. Within a minute and a half she had retrieved the information they needed, printed it off and got out of the room. They left through the door they'd come in by and headed back towards the car.

Just as they were leaving the grounds of SCA Jack spotted an LAPD patrol car pulled up opposite the back entrance to the building. He motioned for Chloe to stay close as they backtracked away from their escape route.

"We're going to have to climb the wall Chloe" he whispered.

"I don't climb walls Jack, you have to remember this is me – I have never been good at that sort of thing" she said, suddenly feeling nervous and a little trapped.

"Don't worry, I'll help you" he said, urging her to put her foot in his clasped hands so he could help her to the top of the wall. Chloe sighed and was surprised at how easy it was with his help. Jack quickly jumped down the other side of the wall, landing gracefully then reached up to help her down. It was all going so well until the taser fell out of Chloe's pocket, falling to the ground with a loud clatter.

"Dammit" said Jack, noticing the movement of the patrol officer as an indication that he'd heard it and sensed that someone was there. The officer left the spot where he was leaning against his vehicle and, hand on weapon started to move towards them. Jack was sure he couldn't yet see them as they were standing in a shadow where a street light was deflected by a large tree. Quickly Jack kicked the taser out of sight and, looking at Chloe urgently said "sorry Chloe but we need to distract him."

"How?..." her words were cut short suddenly by the contact of his lips on hers. Chloe stood rigid in shock, unable to believe that this was happening. Just then Jack deepened the kiss, using his tongue to elicit a response so that their kiss appeared genuine to the approaching officer. Chloe felt a warmth radiating up her spine, a sensation that prompted the response Jack was looking for. She held onto his shoulders as his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her closer to that their bodies were joined at every angle. Logical thought out of the window, Chloe kissed him back and, although convinced she was mistaken thought she heard him groan in response.

Just then, the voice of the officer interrupted them.

"Sir, madam. May I ask what you are doing?"

"Well, I would have thought that obvious" said Jack, pulling away from Chloe but still with his arms around her and shielding her face from the officer – he knew her bruises were likely to cause further questions they didn't have time to deal with. Chloe was glad he'd kept his arms around her, she wasn't sure she would still be standing if he let go of her completely.

The officer looked at them both, noting their breathlessness and close contact. "Well, might I suggest you take it somewhere more appropriate sir?" the officer said, attempting to sound disapproving while actually being amused by the antics of this obviously enamoured couple.

"Sure" Jack said, "On our way now." With that, he took hold of Chloe's hand and pulling her with him moved in the general direction of the car. Jack drove off straight away, wanting to get away from the immediate area before the officer could realise the connection between them and the break in.

Eventually they pulled up next to a park in a residential area of the city. Chloe took out the document that she'd printed and told Jack the name of the man they had identified as being a primary contact for the Chinese. Chloe searched the name Carl Gardner on the laptop and identified that he'd been involved as a major sponsor for Logan's administration.

"What are we going to do now?" Chloe asked.

"We're going to go and talk to Mr Gardner. But first we need to get a recording device. I want names and I want answers Chloe and when I get them I want them recorded."

"I can call Morris; he's probably our best bet."

"I'm not sure it's safe to contact him Chloe, particularly as he helped us last time. If I were Bill I'd be having him watched, I'd be tapping his phone lines."

"That's why he's got a scrambled cell. After what happened with Logan, then you, he wanted me to be able to reach him if I was in trouble without fear of being caught" she said picking up Jack's cell phone from the dash.

Chloe arranged to meet Morris a couple of miles from his home, he was aware there was a chance he was being watched and promised Chloe he would take evasive action and only meet them when he knew he was clear. When they arrived Morris was already there, sitting in his car waiting. As they approached he got out, Chloe walked towards him "hello love, what kind of trouble are you in now?" he asked. As Chloe got closer his expression changed from friendly regard to one of shock at the injuries to her face.

"What the hell has happened to you? Are you ok?" then he noticed Jack getting out of the car and shot him a dark look full of frustration and anger. "Bauer! What have you got her into this time? Don't you ever have a sense of responsibility for her? She tells me you will do anything to secure the interests of this country, but what about her? Look at her!" he said, the emotion at seeing her like that feeding into the anger he already felt towards Jack. Anger that he asked too much of her, that he'd always asked too much of her but more than that; anger that Jack had her emotionally whereas he, once her husband had nothing of her anymore.

"Morris, stop" said Chloe. "If it hadn't been for Jack I'd probably be dead by now".

Jack on the other hand stood there thinking that Morris was right. He'd always relied heavily on Chloe but she was the one person he could turn to, the one person he could trust to help him, to trust him even when she didn't know the full story of what he was doing.

Eventually Morris had calmed down, handed Jack the recording device and left, but not before telling Jack that he would personally find him and kill him if anything happened to Chloe.


	9. Chapter 9

The Gardner house was set in an expensive LA suburb with its own private security; not wanting to arouse suspicion Jack drove round only once then parked up out of the way. He and Chloe headed in on foot. They succeeded in accessing the house despite security cameras, alarms and an army of guards patrolling the area. Once inside they headed straight for the master bedroom where Jack dragged Carl Gardner from his bed and into the adjacent bathroom. Jack proceeded to use various forms of mild torture to get the information from him they needed. Chloe meanwhile held a gun to Mrs Gardner, attempting to reassure her that as long as her husband cooperated they would both be fine.

It took Jack less than two minutes to get the name and location of the mastermind behind the Logan conspiracy. They left the house the way they'd gone in, through the front door having temporarily rendered both Gardner and his wife unconscious.

As they returned to their car, Jack turned to Chloe saying "it'll be over soon Chloe, then we can get out of here and you can go back to your life. I'm really sorry for dragging you into this, sorry for constantly dragging you into whatever mess is going on." Chloe smiled at him, insisting that she was fine but not wanting to tell him that she wouldn't have it any other way for fear of him guessing her true feelings.

Just then they heard a screech of tires as a black SUV suddenly turned the corner and came to a halt just in front of them. Jack pushed Chloe behind him and raised his weapon against the vehicle's occupants. Chloe felt her heart speeding up as adrenaline pumped through her system. Then just as she was slowly pulling the gun she had hidden in the back of her jeans she felt a wave of relief at the sight of Curtis exiting the vehicle.

Jack lowered his gun slowly and shouted "Back off Curtis, we need to do this and we need to do it now. If you get in my way then I will have no choice but to shoot you."

"Jack, I'm not here to stop you. I am here to help you" Curtis said calmly.

Chloe saw Jack falter a little, obviously trying to process whether or not this was a trap. "How did you find us?" he asked.

"Morris called it in. He was worried about Chloe, worried she might be helping you under duress. He provided a link up to the recording device he'd given you so we could create a live feed when you used it. We knew you were here but just didn't know why. Now we do and we want to work with you on it."

Jack lowered his weapon completely but stood firm in wanting to go in alone. "I'm sorry Curtis I can't let you do that. I need to make sure nothing goes wrong. If it does then both Chloe and I are either going to end up dead or in jail and I can't let that happen. Not to her."

"It's ok Jack but it's just me. Morris came straight to me and no-one else knows about it yet. We can be in and have the information we need before anyone suspects anything."

Chloe moved out from behind him then. She saw a flash of shock in Curtis' eyes at the sight of her injuries. "Why did Morris come to you? He hardly knows you Curtis. If he was going to anyone, why didn't he go to Bill?"

At that question the passenger side of the SUV opened and Jack again lifted his weapon and pulled Chloe behind him – only to lower it again at the sight of Morris standing by the side of the vehicle. Chloe pulled herself from Jack's grasp and walked towards Morris, the anger in her expression evident by the way he backed off slightly when she approached.

She walked up to him and grabbed the lapels of his jacket and shook him none too gently "why the hell did you do it Morris? I told you I was fine, that I knew what I was getting into. Why couldn't you just leave it alone?"

Jack stepped forward, urging her to calm down "Chloe, its ok. Morris was just protecting you, I can understand that. Its ok we'll work this out."

Chloe turned from Morris scowling "humph….like I need protecting. He's the one that'll need protection."

Morris looked relieved that she had turned away from him, as though he'd been on the receiving end of Chloe's bad moods on more occasions than he cared to remember. "Chloe, I'm sorry. I just thought we could help."

"Well you can't…you've done.." Chloe's words were cut off mid sentence by Jack who saw an opportunity for him to continue this without putting Chloe at risk any longer.

"Actually Chloe, I think maybe they can help. Curtis can come with me and Morris can take you back to CTU. I know they will give you a hard time to start with but eventually they will see you were trying to do the right thing." Jack stopped talking at the expression on Chloe's face – it was an expression that reflected a number of emotions, not least her disappointment that he was so willing to work without her after all she had done.

Jack sighed and, taking hold of her hand he led her around the back of their car to talk more privately. He held onto her shoulders and looked into her eyes "Chloe, I couldn't have done any of this without you today and for that I will always be grateful. But, I'm worried about you, you've been through so much and I don't want to put you at risk any more. I need to know that you're safe."

Chloe felt tears stinging the back of her eyes but was unable to find the words to respond to what he was saying. The reality was that she needed to know that he was safe too and the only way she felt able to do that was to not let him out of her sight again. She almost laughed at herself; how could she, geeky computer genius be better equipped than Jack or Curtis to keep anyone safe in the field?

The sight of her tears were nearly his undoing. He pulled her towards him and held her for the briefest of moments, then gently touched his lips to the top of her head before pushing her towards Morris. "Go Chloe, please…go with Morris."

Chloe left then and for the second time that day she wondered if she would ever see him again. She got in the car and drove with Morris back to CTU in silence but with an awareness that Morris was studying her almost as much as he was studying the road.

Within the hour they were pulling into the CTU car lot and as he pulled to a stop Morris turned to her. "You ok love?" he asked gently.

"I'm fine" she said screwing up her face. "Not looking forward to getting arrested but it's not the first time and probably won't be the last so let's just get it over with."

"At least you won't be dead" Morris said on a sigh.

They walked into CTU and Chloe was aware of a number of looks in her direction, not least the look she received from Audrey Raines. Just as Audrey looked as though she was going to approach her, Bill stepped in front of her and, gesturing for Audrey to back off he walked over to Chloe and Morris. He took hold of Chloe's arm and led her into a quiet room, asking Morris to wait for them outside.

"Chloe what is going on? You look terrible."

"It's just superficial Bill, no big deal really. Jack and Curtis are together and following a lead. It should be over soon, and then they'll be back."

At that Bill looked over at Audrey, thinking that finally she will be out of his hair once she knows Jack is ok and he's back there. He looked back at Chloe saying "I don't suppose there's much point in me asking you where they are is there? Despite the fact that I can send back up to help them?"

Chloe rolled her eyes at that "you know the drill by now, I'm not saying anything. If they want our help I'm sure they'll let us know. Feel free to arrest me though" she said on a scowl.

Bill sighed "that won't be necessary, for the moment anyway. Let's get you to medical so they can check you out."

Chloe sat in medical waiting to be treated when the door opened suddenly and Audrey walked in. "How are you Chloe?"

"Um, well fine I guess"

"Good….."

Chloe rolled her eyes then, "I don't suppose you've really come in her to ask how I am have you? You want to know about Jack? I don't really know what you want me to say other than he's alive – for now. That he has been battling all day with very little help to get to the bottom of what's going on."

Audrey sat down. "I know Chloe. It's just it was a shock to hear that he'd just turned up today with no warning, no word."

"He had his reasons and I'm sure he'll tell you about it if…, when he gets back."

Audrey left then and the doctor came in to examine Chloe, pronouncing her fit for questioning once her wounds had been cleaned and redressed. Chloe was anxious for news about Jack but knew that as soon as she left medical she would likely be arrested.

Just as the doctor was finishing up Bill came in. "I thought you might want to know that I just got a call from Curtis. They have the information they needed and are heading back here. We sent a team in to detain those responsible for the Logan conspiracy and the scene is secure. Both Jack and Curtis are fine although Jack has sustained an injury." At the look in Chloe's eyes he quickly added "nothing too serious apparently".

An hour later Chloe was sitting in holding, just as she'd expected. Bill had told her that Division were sending someone to debrief her as they felt everyone at CTU lacked certain objectivity. She'd been told Jack was back and being treated in medical and that Audrey was with him. She sighed at that; not that she had too much of a problem with Audrey, it wasn't like Chloe ever thought she herself stood a real chance with Jack.

Just then she heard a commotion outside the holding room door, she couldn't see anything but she heard raised voices, one of them belonging to Jack.

Chloe heard Bill sigh "Jack, Division have asked me to keep the two of you apart, they want to question you separately."

"Dammit Bill, I just want to talk to her for a second. What harm will it do? This is Chloe; she's not a threat to anyone. I just want to make sure she's ok."

There was silence for a moment then the door opened suddenly and Jack came in. He had a dressing on his arm but otherwise looked to be in one piece.

"Jack! Are you ok? What happened?" Chloe asked in concern.

"I'm fine Chloe; it's nothing more than a scratch really"

Chloe looked at his arm suspiciously, knowing that a scratch to Jack Bauer would most likely fell any other man.

"Chloe, how're you holding up? I'm really sorry about this. I never meant for you to get into trouble, I'd hoped they'd think you were doing this against your will but unfortunately because of your track record when it comes to helping me they are suspicious about your level of involvement."

Chloe looked at the worried expression on his face and quickly jumped in to reassure him that she was fine. "It's hardly the first time I've been kept in holding Jack. I'll be fine."

Jack nodded at that then walked closer to where she was sitting then knelt down next to her. "Chloe, I want you to tell them that I forced you to do everything today and that I threatened to kill you if you didn't do it."

Chloe rolled her eyes at that. "Jack they won't believe it for a second."

"It doesn't matter what they believe as long as we both stick to the same story. They have no evidence otherwise."

"No Jack. I did what I thought was right and I won't feel ashamed of that. We got results didn't we? What are they going to do to us?" she asked, the sarcastic tone of her voice implying a faith in a system where getting results was the only thing that mattered.

"Chloe, please ……. I don't want you getting into trouble over this."

"Jack I won't lie. You may have forced my hand to get me involved in the beginning but since I walked into that office this morning, everything I have done I've done willingly and I won't deny that."

Jack ran his hand through his hair in frustration but knew it was pointless arguing with her when she was in one of her righteous moods. He smiled then and was just about to say something when the door opened suddenly. It was Bill telling them that the agent from Division had just arrived and it wouldn't look good for anyone if they were found together. Jack left then, telling Chloe he would see her later.

But he didn't see her later; in fact Jack's was the last friendly face she saw as she was taken to Division for questioning to eliminate the risk of anyone from CTU hindering their investigation. Chloe started to feel nervous, this had never happened before and she'd been in trouble a lot. She started to feel afraid for herself rather than for Jack this time; she felt as though she was in serious trouble, the kind that she would not easily get out of.


	10. Chapter 10

God life sucks, Chloe O'Brian thought to herself. Here I am in love with a man who does nothing but shout at me whenever there's a crisis. Oh, there were times that he showed his appreciation but they were few and far between. She knew that a lot of it was down to stress but the thing that grated, the thing that really annoyed her was that while he was shouting at her he was also loving it up with his girlfriend. Why couldn't he shout at Audrey for a change? Or anyone else for that matter. After all, out of everyone Chloe was the one that always went out of her way to give him what he needed. She'd been arrested, fired and almost killed on more than one occasion for him. What had the others done?

In actual fact during their last job together they had worked more closely than ever and Chloe did feel as though he'd appreciated her. In fact he had gone out of his way to make sure she was ok, even encouraging her to lie about her helping him willingly. But she hadn't listened, had she? And how stupid did that make her feel now? Here she was locked up and he was god knows where but probably with Audrey in any case. 'And not giving you, Chloe O'Brian a second thought' she thought to herself.

Most of the time she accepted it, accepted the fact that he was the one making all the sacrifices – she thought it was the least she could do to support him where she could. And now here she was, actually in jail. She couldn't believe it had happened. When she'd first been arrested she'd assumed it would be like all the times before, she'd sit in holding for a couple of hours and when they realised he was right they'd let her go. But not this time; not that Jack was wrong - of course he'd been right all along but they'd decided to make an example of her. After all, they couldn't do that to him; if they did they would never find the terrorists. She'd been here for nearly six weeks and during that time she'd only been visited by her lawyer. No wonder some people ended up betraying their country if this is how their country treated them.

She paced up and down her small cell; she was in isolation, partly because the other prisoners had heard she was a traitor and partly because she was so good at pissing people off that they'd thought it best to keep her away from the others. Well it suited her; suited her to be alone – she was used to it.

She only had a couple of hours to go though; not because they were releasing her but because they were transferring her. She was due to stand trial in Washington in a few weeks and they apparently wanted her moved sooner rather than later as they were concerned that any publicity nearer to the time might result in a media circus. Any intense publicity during a trial like hers was likely to put national security at risk. She'd been told by her lawyer that she was likely to be sentenced to life in prison with little hope of parole unless there was a sympathetic president in office who was prepared to give her a presidential pardon – although that was unlikely apparently. Given the nature of her crimes on top of her part in bringing down the last president it was more likely that the powers that be would want to keep her out of the way for as long as possible.

As she sat down to a solitary meal Chloe hoped that the prison food in DC was better than it was in LA. She pushed her food around the plate for several minutes before abandoning any attempt at eating it. Her musings were interrupted by the sound of the guard opening her cell door. "Come on O'Brian, it's time for you to leave."

Chloe huffed a little at the prospect of the journey ahead. She couldn't really see the point of the trial herself; she knew what the verdict would be but guessed they had to be seen to be following due process. As she walked with the guard through the long prison corridors she was heckled and shouted at by the other inmates; even spat on – but the guard just kept walking, telling Chloe to hurry up. Once at the main prison office, Chloe was kept busy signing transfer papers for half an hour or so. Eventually they had all the relevant documentation and she was escorted into the waiting transfer vehicle. She was shackled to her seat and was alone in the back of the van with just one guard. She saw the outline of the driver and briefly wondered why she was with only the one guard.

They drove for several miles before the van suddenly seemed to veer off the main road and stopped abruptly. She felt panic rise in her throat and a sudden thought occurred to her; one that involved some people not even wanting her to stand trial. She wondered if this had all been set up to finally get rid of her. Well, she decided she wasn't going down without a fight.


	11. Chapter 11

As the back door to the van opened she was faced with an armed man wearing a balaclava, she then noticed the guard in the front slumped unconscious on the dashboard. Just as she was about to ask what the hell was happening she was abruptly pushed to the floor as the man lunged towards the second guard and although she couldn't see anything she gathered that the guard was now unconscious.

Chloe lay face down on the floor of the van when she felt hands on her body, hands that were firm yet not rough releasing her from her chains. Just as he was forcibly pulling her up from the floor she saw a chance to disarm him. She kicked back, catching him on the shins and using her head in an attempt to slam into his and knock him off guard. She was too slow though and he caught her head in his hands with ease.

"Dammit! I didn't think this was going to be easy but I did think you might be at least a bit grateful Chloe"

Chloe's lips twitched a little as she tried to suppress a smile at the sight of him, bent over slightly and clutching his bruised shin, the balaclava now removed from his head to reveal the face of Jack Bauer. As much as she wanted to smile properly, to throw her arms around him in joy; Chloe decided it was safer and easier to be her usual self. So instead decided to punch him on the arm just in case he thought she'd be a pushover because he'd come to rescue her.

"What the hell took you so long? I've been stuck in this stinking hole for the last 6 weeks and no-one has even been to see me. As for you, for all I knew you were dead or at least locked in an asylum somewhere having a breakdown".

He just stood there watching her, mouth gaping while clutching his now bruised arm. He hadn't really expected gratitude from her but he did expect her to be pleased to see him. He shook his head a little at the sight of her standing before him; hands on hips and glaring as only Chloe knew how.

The sound of distant sirens shook him out of his daze "c'mon Chloe we've got to get out of her now!"

"And go where? Is there some other disaster or threat you need my help with Jack? Because if there is I'm not sure I want to play today. I'm really, really tired of all this and actually I think maybe my life will be a lot more simple if I just sit it out and wait for them to get here. I'm sure being in jail for the rest of my life will be a lot safer than going anywhere with you."

"Chloe, c'mon" he said urgently, putting his hand out to help her down from the van.

"No."

"Chloe…"

"I said no Jack"

The sound of the sirens was getting louder now and Jack was feeling more and more agitated. "For god's sake Chloe we have to go. NOW!"

"No WE don't. You go, I'll be fine, and I'll just sit it out here if you don't mind Jack." On that note she clambered down so she was sitting on the floor of the van, her legs dangling out the back door. She gave him one of her smiles, the one that no-one could really recognise as a smile and gestured for him to go without her.

Staring at her in complete disbelief and frustration, Jack decided the only way he'd be able to get her out of there quietly and quickly was if she was unconscious. With that thought and a small, satisfied smile of his own Jack went into action. Seconds later he was running with an unconscious Chloe O'Brian draped unceremoniously over his shoulder.


	12. Chapter 12

Jack knew that she would be pissed when she came to; not that he could blame her, it was a good job he enjoyed her feistiness. They were currently travelling in a civilian helicopter that Jack and Curtis commandeered. They were working below the radar of CTU although both Curtis and Bill had been aware of what Jack was doing; up to a point anyway. Jack didn't want anyone knowing where he was taking Chloe; it would be safer for all of them.

Chloe remained unconscious when they landed at their initial location; a safe house in a densely wooded area. Jack knew that all airports and ports would be heavily guarded within the hour so there was little hope of them getting out of the country without being detected. Bill had arranged for two undercover agents to act as decoy on an international flight to Eastern Europe in the hope that if they got through without being detected the authorities would eventually link them back to Jack and Chloe. That way Jack and Chloe would have a better chance of getting out of the country in a couple of days.

Jack lifted Chloe out of the helicopter and carried her into the house while Curtis carried the provisions he had earlier loaded on board. Jack gently lowered Chloe onto the couch in the living room then turned to Curtis to thank him for his help.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to handle her when she comes round?" Curtis asked with a smile. He wouldn't normally presume to ask Jack whether he could handle anything, but he secretly wondered if dealing with a disgruntled Chloe might be one of his toughest assignments yet. On second thoughts Chloe was disgruntled most of the time and that was bad enough, Curtis dreaded to think what she would be like after this.

Jack smiled at Curtis' question "I think I'm going to view it as a rather enjoyable challenge Curtis."

Curtis looked as though he thought Jack was crazy. His expression changing to one of unreserved wariness as Chloe groaned and shifted her position slightly. "Well I guess that's my cue to get out of here" he said.

Jack laughed at that "don't tell me you're scared of Chloe Curtis, she's harmless. You just have to get to know her properly."

"I think I'll leave that one up to you Jack, you're a braver man than I am" Curtis said with a smile as the two men shook hands. Jack thanked Curtis for his help and assured him he would make contact to let him and Bill know they were safely out of the country. As the taller man left, Jack smiled wryly to himself at the effect Chloe seemed to have on those around her.

Jack went into the kitchen and got an ice bag out of the freezer, returning to the couch where Chloe lay. He sat on the edge of the couch and leant over to place the ice on her jaw line where he had knocked her out. She pulled her head away from the iciness of his touch, still not quite awake but responding to the cold stimuli. Jack held her head gently while trying to process all she must have been through over the past few weeks. He knew that she would have felt betrayed and let down; that she would have thought no-one cared. He hadn't been able to get in touch sooner because from the moment he had found out she was going to be tried he'd been working on this plan to get her out. He knew that if he'd spoken to her during that time, he would find it difficult to keep his plans from her and if she had known she would have tried to dissuade him.

Chloe was awake; she just didn't want him to know yet. She knew that it was him sitting by her side, she recognised his touch. She was secretly pleased that he had broken her out; she just wasn't ready to tell him that yet. As well as being pleased however, she was also concerned. She was worried about what he had sacrificed to get her out, he didn't deserve any more upset in his life, and he should be allowed some peace, some time to be happy. She wondered how Audrey had reacted to this, if she knew that is. Chloe decided it was time he knew she was awake, not that she intended making it easy for him.

The first Jack knew that Chloe had come to was when he found himself sprawled on the floor. She had used her body to buck against him and push him off the couch and he had been caught off guard. He looked at her with a wry expression, aware that a lesser man would be floored a second time at the daggers she shot from her eyes.

"You're awake" he said, turning towards her and reaching over to rest a calming hand on her arm.

She quickly slapped his arm away, saying "In case it has escaped your notice Jack I wasn't actually asleep, I was unconscious. A state that you put me in you bastard."

Much to Chloe's annoyance he chuckled, saying "you didn't exactly give me a choice Chloe, you weren't cooperating and we were both minutes away from getting arrested."

Chloe groaned as she tried to sit up, both her jaw and her neck aching. Jack moved toward her, holding his hands in a defensive gesture. "Just let me help you Chloe, you're gonna be aching for a while yet."

"Humph! And who's fault is that?" she asked while letting him guide her into a sitting position on the couch. He sat next to her and reached for the ice pack to again press it against her jaw. Chloe flinched a little but relaxed back on the couch, deciding that she didn't have the energy to fight him any longer.

"You hungry?" he asked.

"I don't know, I guess food isn't the first thing on my mind at the moment" she said in response.

"We have steaks, I'm guessing that what you've had in the last few weeks has been barely palatable and you are looking a little thin" he said.

"Oh, way to turn a girls head Jack – if she won't come quietly knock her out, then insult the way she looks" she said rolling her eyes as though he was the most stupid man on the planet.

Jack moved in and leant his head against hers, brushing his lips to her temple then leaning down and whispering softly in her ear "god it's good to see you O'Brian, I've missed you."

Chloe felt tears spring to her eyes and, feeling exposed she buried her face in his neck. Jack wasn't stupid though, he knew Chloe must be feeling worn down, that she would be feeling emotionally vulnerable – a condition that wouldn't sit comfortably. Jack gathered her in his arms and held her tightly to him.

"Hey, it's ok. Don't hide from me Chloe, its ok".

They sat like that for several minutes until Chloe pulled back, blinking to clear the mist that was clouding her vision. She smiled at him "don't think this means I've forgiven you. I know you're good at turning most women to mush Jack Bauer but you will not succeed with me."

He smiled and gently brushed his lips against hers, creating a stunned expression on Chloe's face. "Good, the day you turn to mush is the day I get a desk job and stick with it. C'mon, let's go and get dinner."

"Actually, I'd quite like to get out of these clothes first. Is there anything I can change into?"

Jack pointed her in the direction of the bedroom and adjoining bathroom where she found a suitcase crammed full of everything she might need; and plenty that she might not, she thought as she pulled out a red laced nightgown. Chloe screwed up her face, wondering who on earth had got these clothes for her. Ignoring that question for the moment she plucked out a vest top and a pair of pyjama bottoms, showering quickly before she got changed.

When she walked out of the bedroom she found Jack in the kitchen preparing a salad for their meal. Chloe rolled her eyes wondering if there was anything this man couldn't do.

"Who packed the clothes Jack?" she asked.

He turned to her and said "actually, it was Kim".

"Kim? You mean you two have been in touch?"

"Yeah, we've managed to sort a few things out."

Chloe was happy for him, but also she was wondering why Jack was making himself a fugitive to help her when he had just been reunited with his only daughter. The other distant thought in her mind related to the fact that Kim had packed some pretty revealing outfits for her.

Jack noticed the range of expressions crossing her face and suspected she had a lot of questions to ask him. "Chloe, it's getting late. Let's just eat, enjoy your first night of freedom and sleep. We can talk tomorrow and I'll answer any questions you have then. We're going to be here for at least a couple of days with very little to do so we have plenty of time."

Chloe sighed deeply, forcing her body to relax a little and went to help him with the final preparations for dinner. They ate comfortably, chatting mainly about current affairs and items of news that had occurred during Chloe's period of incarceration. When they'd finished and worked together to clear up the kitchen Chloe stifled a yawn and stretched her still aching neck.

"You ready to sleep?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, I think I am" Chloe responded "where am I sleeping?"

"With me" Jack said; a bland expression on his face.

"Wh…what?" Chloe asked incredulously.

Jack laughed, enjoying the shocked expression on her face. "Relax Chloe, I'm not going to have my wicked way with you. It's just I want you close by. I'm sure we're safe up here and we have the added bonus of Curtis and Bill maintaining surveillance from a distance. But I want you with me in case we have to move quickly and the other bedrooms are upstairs, I thought we could share the downstairs room. It's plenty big enough and I can make a bed up on the floor."

Chloe shrugged in an attempt at indifference. The reality though was that she was feeling far from indifferent, particularly as following his words she now had images floating through her mind of what it would be like if Jack actually did have his wicked way with her. She felt herself colouring slightly so turned and headed for the bedroom.

She was just settling into bed when he came in. She turned onto her side away from him and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of him making up the bed on the floor then moving into the bathroom. When he returned a few minutes later Chloe felt the bed dip as he sat down; she turned towards him and found him looking down at her. She coloured up for the second time in a matter of minutes when she realised he was naked from the waist up. He leant in and gently kissed her on her head.

"'Night Chloe"

"Goodnight Jack"

Jack turned off the lights and settled down in his makeshift bed. Chloe stifled a smile as she heard him groan a couple of times, obviously trying to get comfortable. After about ten minutes of him moving around restlessly, interspersed with frequent groans of discomfort; Chloe could not suppress the laugh that escaped her lips.

"You laughing at me?" Jack asked irritably.

"Yes but don't worry; I won't make you suffer anymore." She pulled the bed covers aside, gesturing for him to climb into the bed "there's plenty of room in here for both of us."

Jack groaned one more time as he got up off the floor, climbing in beside her and lying on his back staring at the ceiling while Chloe rolled onto her side; her back facing him. "Does that mean I have to keep my distance? Because I'm warning you Chloe, I tend to get pretty restless and move around a lot when I sleep. I just wanted to warn you that I might not be able to help coming over onto your side of the bed."

Chloe sighed. "Well, I guess if you can't help it then that's ok" she said with a small smile.

"Good," he said as he rolled over and reached out to drag her into his chest "go to sleep". Chloe relaxed into him and slept peacefully for the first time in weeks.


	13. Chapter 13

When Chloe woke the space beside her in the bed was empty but still warm, she could hear Jack moving around in the kitchen and she just lay there for a while enjoying waking up in a comfortable bed for the first time in weeks. Eventually she got up and quickly showered and dressed.

By the time she emerged from the bedroom Jack was nowhere in sight. Guessing he was looking around outside, checking that there was no evidence of anyone watching them she stepped through the kitchen door onto a path that led down toward a wooded area. Chloe couldn't see Jack so she just wandered down the path, enjoying the freshness of the day and revelling in the feeling of freedom she had from being outdoors with no prison guards watching over her.

Jack emerged from the area to the right of her just as she was contemplating going back inside to get a sweater, the coolness of the morning making her shiver.

"Hey, I thought you would sleep in a little longer this morning" he said as he reached her.

"Yeah? Well, you know how I hate to be predictable" she said with a scowl.

"Don't I just. Breakfast?" he asked as he fell into step beside her.

They prepared breakfast together, settling down at the kitchen table in companionable silence. After several minutes of Chloe frowning at a mark on the table top, Jack decided to help her out;

"Chloe, just say it. You don't need to worry about filtering stuff out with me, not while it's just the two of us. You've obviously got something on your mind so just spit it out and we can deal with it."

Chloe looked at him, wondering when he had learnt to read her so well. "I'm just wondering why you're here Jack. I get that you want to help me but there must have been another way; A way to do this without you having to be on the run again."

Jack leaned back in his seat and sighed. He'd been wondering when they were going to have to deal with this and had secretly hoped he wouldn't have to explain himself this quickly.

"Chloe, I couldn't just leave you there. We didn't know how long it would be before you got out and I couldn't just walk away and get on with my life while knowing you were stuck in jail paying for my mistakes."

"Mistakes? When did you ever make a mistake?" she asked incredulously.

Jack laughed. "I make them all the time Chloe; you just refuse to see them."

Chloe gave him one of her meanest looks "No I don't. I see them; I just don't think you've made any mistakes that I've had to pay for. Not everything that goes wrong is your fault Jack. Oh, I know plenty of people blame you but it's just because they feel inadequate. They are inadequate! They are so wrapped up in rules and regulations and their own image that they can't see what's in front of them." She stopped, but only to take a breath then forgot what she was going to say at the incredulous expression on his face.

"What have I said now?" she asked; concerned she had gone too far.

Jack blinked quickly as though trying to clear the myriad of thoughts running through his mind.

"Nothing,…everything. Chloe, you have no idea how good it is to have someone support me the way you do. I've gotten so used to doing things on my own; and that's exactly why I'm here now. You are the only person who has backed me one hundred percent and I couldn't turn my back on that".

"I didn't do it blindly Jack; I knew what I was doing." She said sharply, too sharply she thought as she saw him shift in his chair under her gaze.

Jack was silent for a moment so Chloe took advantage and asked the question that had been playing on her mind since yesterday.

"What about Audrey?"

Jack's head snapped up at the question, it wasn't that it was unexpected, he just hadn't expected her to be so blunt about it; stupid really, Chloe was always blunt –that was part of her charm. He smiled to himself while trying to figure out how to answer her.

He sighed then looked directly at her "we tried to work things out but we couldn't. She couldn't deal with my job; not surprising really, but that was the way it was. I had to make a choice."

Chloe frowned thinking there was more to it than he was telling her. "Why did you choose your job Jack? I thought you loved Audrey".

"So did I" he said obviously not prepared to expand on his answer.

Chloe knew she was missing something but couldn't yet put her finger on it. "Jack, how is sitting here babysitting me doing your job? Ok, I get that you wanted me out of jail but why did you have to come with me? You could have easily found me somewhere to go particularly with Curtis and Bill in on it."

Jack got up and started pacing the kitchen, obviously uncomfortable with her line of questioning. "I didn't trust anyone else Chloe and I wanted you to be safe."

Realisation slowly dawned on Chloe; realisation that Jack had sacrificed his chance of happiness. Not because of his job but because of her. That was why he was being so cagey – he knew she would hate to think that he'd done that for her.

Chloe felt tears sting her eyes; she wanted to be angry. Angry that he'd done something so stupid, but she just felt sad that he was yet again giving up the chance of a normal life. But this time, instead of saving the world, he'd done it to save her.

The tears were slowly falling down her cheeks as she sat just staring out of the kitchen window; she didn't hear Jack walk towards her. The first she knew that he was kneeling next to her was when his hand began gently stroking her back.

"Hey Chloe its ok. Please don't…..its ok."

Chloe took a shuddering breath before turning to him "No Jack, it is most definitely not ok…its…" her words stuck in her throat and she closed her eyes in an attempt to stop the flow of tears. Before she opened them again she felt herself being pulled up from the chair and despite her trying to break away he just held her.

It was several minutes before Chloe could compose herself. She pulled away from Jack and he reluctantly let her go. She walked to the other side of the kitchen and when she turned back towards him she gave him a steely look before going into the bedroom.

Jack knew better than to follow her. He could see that she needed some time alone but also realised they needed to resolve this situation. He understood that Chloe would feel he had made sacrifices to protect her and that she would hate that. He understood she would feel he was doing this out of a sense of responsibility and whilst that was true to a certain extent, it wasn't nearly enough of an explanation for why he was here.

Jack shook himself out of his thoughts and walked into the living room just in time to see Chloe emerge from the bedroom with a small bag in tow. She saw him but didn't stop, just carried on walking until she reached the front door and stepped outside. Jack stared at her retreating back then groaned when he realised what she was doing.

He caught up with her in seconds and, knowing it would be pointless to try and talk to her when she was in this kind of mood he put his hands on her shoulders, quickly turning her towards him. Her snarl although fierce was not enough to put him off, he put his hands round her waist, leant forward and threw her over his shoulder. He retreated back to the house with Chloe pummelling his back with her fists, demanding that he let her go. Once inside he dropped her onto the couch then sat next to her, blocking her in with his body. She was glaring furiously at him and breathing hard with the effort it took to fight him.

"Damnit Jack, why can't you see that this is stupid? You can't do this, just let me go. I can look after myself; they won't find me. I managed to keep you safe for a year and a half when you were on the run, what makes you think I can't do the same for myself? If you really want to help me then do it from CTU; please don't do it like this…I can't bear it." She looked him straight in the eye, imploring him to listen to her, to see that all this was unnecessary.

Jack just sat staring at her, gently stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her. He had known she would find this difficult but he had to make her see that this was the only way, not just for her but for both of them.

"Chloe, I'm not doing this out of duty or because I'm grateful for what you've done for me. I'm doing it because I can't bear to think of you being unsafe; you're my friend, my only friend now and believe me everything I've done since yesterday has been for my own selfish reasons. I didn't want to live my life going from one crazy situation to another and hurting the people I care about the most. For me, this is the perfect solution; I get to walk away and I get to do it with someone I care about".

Chloe pulled back a little so she could look at him properly "ok, let's say I believe you when you say it's over between you and Audrey. But what about Kim? Particularly now that you two have found each other again".

Jack sighed and she could see the emotion in his face when thinking about his daughter. "Chloe, Kim has her own life. Yes we've worked things out but we can't go back to the way things were before. Kim knows that I love her and once things have settled down we'll find a way that she can visit. It's not going to be easy but Chase will help."

"Chase? What do you mean?"

Jack smiled "They got back together a few weeks ago. I've never seen her so happy, that's why I feel able to do this."

"What happened to Barry? Did you and Chase run him out of town?"

Jack laughed "Nope, Kim realised that he wasn't what she needed and ran him out of town all by herself".

Chloe felt a sense of admiration; she hadn't thought Kim had it in her. Jack saw the look of satisfaction on her face, saying "you didn't have much time for Barry did you?"

Chloe rolled her eyes "neither did you. Anyway, I've never really trusted anyone with 'psycho' as part of their title."

Jack laughed and pulled her closer to him. Chloe settled into his side, relaxing slightly. "Jack, are you sure about this?" she asked after a few minutes.

"Chloe I've never been so sure about anything. This is the right thing for both of us. Now, come on let's go for a walk before we start going stir crazy." He got up and pulled her with him.

Chloe stopped to pick up her jacket then turned to meet Jack at the door, she stopped short at the look he was giving her. "What?" she asked, scowling.

Jack just smiled and said "nothing" holding the door open for her.

Just as she was walking through the door he stopped her with his hand on her shoulder and leant down, taking her face in his hands and kissing her full on the lips; the kiss was brief but had the effect of making Chloe flustered.

"Why do you keep doing that?" she asked genuine confusion in her eyes.

"I don't really know; I just can't help it" he said with a small smile as he walked out the house.

"Oh" she said. They left for their walk, Chloe with a thousand questions on her mind; Jack feeling lighter than he had in a long time.


	14. Chapter 14

For two days they settled into a routine, on their third day at the location they received news from Bill and Curtis that it was safe for them to move on. A private jet was taking them out of the US although their final destination was a secret to everyone besides Jack. Not that they would be going directly; he intended it to take a couple of weeks to get there with lots of diversions on the way to try and leave as many false trails behind them as possible.

Jack warned Chloe that they had some rough times ahead, they couldn't travel under normal circumstances where they could just buy tickets and hop on a plane or ship or something. They would have to travel at least part of the time by uncomfortable and unconventional methods.

Chloe rolled her eyes at his concern for her. "Jack, I've just spent weeks in a women's prison. You may find this hard to believe but it's not all beauty spas and manicures you know. The conditions are not great and the company is even worse. At least the company will be relatively ok on this trip we're going on".

Jack smiled at her dry humour; that was something else that he'd missed about her. "Chloe, I just want you to be comfortable. It's only what you deserve after what you've been through."

Jack turned and started to move towards the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"Stop right there!" Chloe ordered.

Jack stopped then turned slowly, arching a surprised brow questioningly. If Chloe had been observing this scene she would have laughed at the surprise in his expression, Jack wasn't used to being ordered around. But she wasn't an observer, she was a full and active participant and, as such she felt she should stop him before he went too far in his effort to protect her.

"Don't wrap me up and treat me like I'm some fragile, helpless child Jack. I am not your daughter, your girlfriend or your god-damn grandmother, so stop treating me like you do them. We do this as equals or we don't do it" she said firmly.

Jack liked Chloe's no-nonsense attitude and he smiled in appreciation.

"Alright, I hear you" he said simply.

Chloe grunted snarkily then turned to walk into the bedroom not realising that the sway of her hips in the tight jeans she was wearing made her look anything but child like or grandmotherly. She stopped at the sound of his amused voice.

"Nope, definitely not my grandmother……. or my daughter" he said on a chuckle that failed to diminish the seductive undertone of his voice.

Chloe turned, but he'd already moved away. She frowned, not understanding the tone of his voice or what he meant by it.

When Chloe emerged an hour later, following a relaxing bath she was surprised to see the lights turned down low and the table which had been set for dinner cast in candlelight. She stood for a moment, taking in the scene, a frown of confusion marring her features. If she didn't know better she'd say the scene was set for a romantic dinner for two. She shook her head as though to banish the image the scene conjured up in her mind. She almost laughed, then decided he was just trying to make their evening nice, believing it would be the last one in a while where they could just relax.

Chloe jumped when she heard his voice whisper in her ear from behind

"You hungry?" he asked, his fingers brushing her hair to one side, his thumb accidentally brushing the skin on her neck and making her heart accelerate. At least, Chloe thought his touch was accidental.

Chloe swallowed nervously. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? She wished she could stop herself reading so much into everything.

"Starving" she said, forcing a bright smile in his direction to cover her discomfort.

"Then sit" he said as he went into the kitchen, emerging moments later with their food and a bottle of wine.

Chloe was sure the food was delicious but she hardly tasted it. She seemed better able to drink the wine than to eat. That probably explained the slow flush that seemed to be taking over her body. She pushed the food around her plate, taking a couple of mouthfuls.

"I thought you were hungry" Jack said softly. They hadn't spoken much since sitting down for dinner, Jack's attempts to start a conversation all but falling on deaf ears.

"I am,…was. Oh, I don't know" Chloe said in frustration.

"Chloe, what is it?" he asked gently.

"Nothing. I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Look, I'm eating" she said with a glare.

Jack didn't say anything but gave her a considered look before returning his attention to his own meal.

Eventually, the meal over, Chloe started to clear the table. Jack also got up and joined her in the kitchen and they cleaned up in virtual silence.

"More wine?" Jack asked when they were done.

"Sure" Chloe said, trying to get herself to relax.

As Jack poured the wine Chloe put the last few kitchen items away in their respective storage places. As she reached up into one of the higher cupboards she let out a squeal as the contents of the cupboard started to fall. Jack moved quickly to help her, moving in behind her and placing his hands over hers to push the items back into their storage space.

Chloe felt her breath catch in her throat at the feel of his hard chest pressed against her back. The cupboard fall out was contained but his hands hovered over hers, not moving. She could feel his heartbeat through her clothes and the rhythmic feel of him was turning her mind to mush.

She felt his hands slowly move across her hands and up her arms, eventually resting on her shoulders. He gently turned her towards him so her back was pressed against the kitchen counter. Chloe stared straight at his throat, not daring to look at the expression on his face. She felt his fingers tugging on her chin, forcing her head up and giving her little choice but to look at him.

She closed her eyes but opened them at the sudden contact of his mouth on hers. His lips gently moulded to her own, his teeth grazing her bottom lip so she had no choice but to open her mouth to him. The sensation of his tongue probing the warmth of her sent her thoughts spiralling and she groaned as she relaxed against him.

They stayed like that for several minutes until Chloe somehow managed to get her mind to focus. She was being kissed passionately by Jack Bauer and she didn't know what to do about it. It wasn't the first time he'd kissed her but it was the first time he kissed her as though he meant it, as though he might never stop. And that scared her.

Chloe pulled away from his lips, at the same time pushing at his chest. He stopped as soon as he felt her resistance although the expression on his face mirrored his confusion.

Chloe just couldn't deal with this and she pulled away from him;

"Jack I can't" she said in despair and turned and ran into the bedroom.

Jack gave her a few moments before following her, finding her lying on the bed; tears streaming down her cheeks. Jack hesitated, not sure why she had reacted so badly or how she would react to him now.

He sat on the edge of the bed. "Chloe? Talk to me".

She let out a ragged sob in response, curling in on herself but when he reached out to touch her arm she didn't flinch. Feeling assured that she wouldn't pull away from him Jack lay down beside her and pulled her body into his. He just held her until her tears subsided.

Eventually Chloe pulled back from him, getting up and going into the bathroom. When she came out Jack looked at her pale skin and felt a jolt of concern.

"Chloe, we need to talk" he said simply, leaving her in no doubt that she didn't have a choice in the matter.

"I know" she said, "but not in here."

Jack got up from the bed and, taking her hand he led her to the couch in the living room where he left her to go briefly into the kitchen. He returned a minute later with a glass of water and some painkillers.

"I figured you might have a headache" he said, softly.

Chloe smiled, recalling when she'd first met him. She'd thought back then that he was self absorbed, but she soon realised how wrong she was. She swallowed the pills before relaxing back into the couch, bringing her legs up underneath her. Jack sat next to her, his fingers absently stroking her temple. She closed her eyes and felt her body relaxing for the first time that evening.

"Chloe? Did I scare you?" he asked

Her eyes quickly snapped open and she moved to reassure him.

"No Jack. Please don't think that, you could never do that".

"Then tell me."

"I just don't want you to feel sorry for me Jack"

"What? Why would I feel sorry for you?"

"Because you kissed me"

"Huh?" he asked in confusion. "Why would my kissing you make you think I felt sorry for you?"

Chloe turned away for a moment before taking a deep breath and continuing. She turned back to him when she'd considered what she wanted to stay.

"Jack, you and I are just not a good match. I've just about gotten used to the idea of you giving up your life again for me, but I can't start something with you that's based on you feeling as though you owe me or you're feeling sorry for me."

Chloe flinched a little as she saw the flash of anger cross his features. He moved quickly, hands roughly grabbing the tops of her arms and pulling her across the couch towards him so that her face was merely inches from his.

"Dammit Chloe! Will you stop? I can't stand to hear you talk about me feeling sorry for you or thinking that everything I do is because I'm indebted to you. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Do you hear me?" He shook her slightly in frustration.

Chloe nodded in response but couldn't prevent the tears that stung her eyes.

"Shit" he groaned, pulling her towards him. "Chloe, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's ok Jack. It's just I don't understand why you kissed me."

He smiled softly, looking into her eyes. "Chloe, I kissed you for the same reason any man would kiss a woman. Because I find you attractive and I have feelings for you" he said simply.

"That's the bit I don't get. You and I, we're different. We're not compatible."

"A couple of years ago I would have agreed with you Chloe, but things have changed."

"Like what?" she asked frowning.

"Like I'm now slightly less stupid than I used to be" he said with a slight smile.

"What do you mean?" she asked her confusion increasing.

"Chloe, I spent so long trying to replace what I used to have. I thought I wanted to be with someone who could give my life a bit more normality. That's what I had with Terri, I had a wife and daughter who knew nothing about my work life and that was the last time I remember being happy. So, it made sense in my mind to try and recreate it. I've spent the last few years battling between my job and holding down a relationship outside of it. My relationship with Audrey just proved to me that I can never have that; it was fine while I was in DC but as soon as I started field work again it all fell apart."

"But what has all that got to do with you kissing me?"

He looked up at her, a serious expression on his face.

"Only everything Chloe. While I was in China I kept trying to hold onto images of good things in my life. First I held onto Kim and Audrey, but there was this other image that kept filtering through and that was the image that was constant the whole time I was there. The others kept fading in and out until eventually the only ones I was left with were you and Kim and even then, the thought of Kim brought up a lot of pain so in the end I was only left with you."

"Oh" Chloe said simply, suddenly realising what he was telling her.

"The thing with you Chlo is that you've never judged me, you've never questioned me. You have always had complete trust and faith in me and then when I came back from China you were there again, doing what you always do and not just because it's me but because you know it's the right thing to do. That's kind of my point, we think the same, we see things the same and, in many ways we are the same."

He reached over and pulled her towards him. She didn't resist, she was in too much shock to either do or say anything. Jack gently kissed her then leaned back, still keeping contact with her by stroking her arms.

"I love you Chloe. I want to be with you."

If Chloe was shocked before, she was stunned now.

"You what?"

He laughed at her expression "I love you."

"Oh my god" Chloe hadn't seen that one coming. She was just getting used to the fact that he had feelings for her, but not feelings to that extent.

She sat still for a moment trying to think of something to say that was fitting for the moment. The man she loved had just announced that he loved her. But she couldn't think of any words to express how she felt. So, she decided that actions would have to do. She kissed him, tracing his lips with her own until she heard him groan and she felt herself being pushed back against the couch.

It was several minutes before they came up for air. Jack just stared at her, his breathing laboured. Chloe felt a small smile of satisfaction touch her lips as she saw the effect she was having on him. In a gesture that would normally have been bold for Chloe, she moved from under him so she was standing and held her hand out to him and when he took it she gently tugged at his arm until he was standing next to her. She led him towards the bedroom.

"There is just one thing Jack"

"What?" he asked as he started trailing soft kisses along her jaw line.

"This will only work if you stop treating me like you have to protect me all the time. I saw the way you were with Audrey and that's not what I want. I need to know that the way we are with each other won't change, apart from the sex thing."

"The sex thing?" he asked, laughing gently. "Chloe, I promise that I will not change how I am with you, although there will be times when I get a little protective but you'll have to deal with it. As for the sex thing, well I think we should just get on with it don't you?"

Chloe hesitated for a moment before she brought her body in closer to his. "I love you" she said, enjoying the sound of the words as she spoke them for the very fist time."

He smiled. "Thank you for loving me Chloe. I don't know what I ever did to deserve you."

The end.


End file.
